When we say Tony Stewart’s an animal lover, we don’t mean it lightly. Fans know how elks, deer, and turkeys roam freely on Smoke’s Hidden Hollow Ranch grounds. And that’s what the former SHR owner always did: provide for his furry friends. Mojo, his pet monkey, became famous in the NASCAR circles, as Kevin Harvick once called him, “That thing was obnoxious.” 

While Stewart donated Mojo to a zoo, it doesn’t mean he won’t go the extra mile to help out an animal in need. NASCAR drivers have a wide range of pets who brighten up their homes. From Shane van Gisbergen’s 130-pound Rhodesian Ridgeback to AJ Allmendinger’s cat named Mr. Tickles, animal love is profound in the sport. It is the same for Tony Stewart, and he helped spread it to other souls.

Recently, Tony Stewart piloted his private jet to do a noble deed in the animal community. He and his wife used it to transport a disabled dog named Harley. Mark J. Rebilas, a sports photographer and storm chaser based in Phoenix, was fostering her and needed help finding her forever home.

After finally finding a family for her 1700 miles away in Indiana, Stewart and his wife stepped in to finish the job. Rebilas hailed Stewart’s efforts on X: “HUGE thanks to @TonyStewart and @LeahPruett_TF for helping my wife and I transport a two legged dog Harley that we’ve fostered for the last five months in Arizona to her forever home in Indiana. Now I owe Tony a tornado chase trip soon! 😎”

Tony Stewart Racing Nitro reshared this post on its official X account. “The caption read, You’ve been great foster parents, @rebilasphoto. We’re so happy Harley found her forever home! 🥰🩷” Stewart has been on a roll since last year, achieving significant milestones. Leah Pruett gave birth to their son, Dominic James Stewart, last November. Then, just a month ago, Stewart clinched his first-ever NHRA Top Fuel victory at the Strip in Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He defeated 2024 Top Fuel champion Antron Brown as well as Justin Ashley and Jasmine Salinas with a final-round pass clocked in at 3.870 seconds and 317.42 mph.

The three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion’s ability to pilot an aeroplane came in handy. The aviation fan owns a Citation CJ4 from Cessna. It is a twin-engined beauty with a range of 2000 nautical miles and is a perfect choice for private and corporate use. Having had so much experience with loving and nurturing dogs, Stewart decided to help another canine cutie find love as well. For that purpose, Stewart used his aviation beauty, the Citation CJ4 from Cessna. The $10 million cost of this plane was nothing for him when it meant spreading more furry love.

The motorsports legend is well-connected with the pet world himself. Until 2023, Tony Stewart owned an adorable pig named ‘Porkchop’. However, the farm animal clashed with his furry pets, Max and Mia. Eventually, Stewart had to relocate Porkchop to a different location. Currently, Stewart also takes care of the dog of his wife, 12-time NHRA winner Leah Pruett. It is a gorgeous Australian Shepherd named Cash.

Regardless, for Stewart, taking a furry friend on a flight is something he has done before, or at least, asked someone to help him do so. Remember Mojo the pet monkey? Well, while Harvick wasn’t too keen about him, when Stewart asked him to take Mojo on an airplane, Harvick complied. “I had to take the monkey from the airport to the racetrack. And I took the monkey in his cage and I set the monkey inside on top of the steps of the motor home and I shut the door,” he said. “And that was as close as I ever wanted to be to the monkey because the monkey was dangerous.” 

Clearly, Tony Stewart is in a vibrant phase and is helping spread that positivity with noble deeds. The former NASCAR driver/team owner is not alone in his furry friend pursuits, though.

Animal lovers in the garage

“Can I bring my dog?” This was the only query that Shane Van Gisbergen had when he got an offer to move from Australian Supercars to NASCAR two years ago. Ronald, his Rhodesian Ridgeback dog, is 5 pounds heavier than 2024 regular season champion Tyler Reddick, and SVG was not going to leave without him. As it turned out, the NASCAR community was more than welcoming to Ronald.

Alex Bowman, a Hendrick Motorsports driver, owns three dogs along with his girlfriend Chloe Henderson, who is a self-proclaimed dog mom. What is more, Bowman has donated more than $750,000 over the past four years to animal welfare efforts through partnerships with Ally Racing and Best Friends Animal Society. His Phoenix paint scheme this year featured more than a dozen rescued dogs.

SVG’s Trackhouse Racing teammate, Daniel Suarez, is also a big-time dog-lover. He takes Emma, a four-pound black-and-white Pomeranian, and Pepper, an 11-pound Manx cat, to about half his races each season. The Mexican speedster’s parents routinely collected abandoned dogs from the streets of Monterrey, Mexico. Suarez also supports animal-rescue groups such a PETA and the Humane Society of Charlotte, N.C., where he lives. He emphasized the love for canines: “The beautiful part about animals is that it doesn’t matter how much money you have. It doesn’t matter how good or bad the day you just had. They’re always there to give you a lot. We’re really lucky to have animals in our lives.”

Evidently, Tony Stewart is not alone in the NASCAR community with a deep love for dogs. His noble efforts would encourage other people to help furry friends in need.